In recent years, a movement has gained traction to replace incandescent light bulbs with lighting fixtures that employ more efficient lighting technologies. One such technology that shows tremendous promise employs light emitting diodes (LEDs). Compared with incandescent bulbs, LED-based light fixtures are much more efficient at converting electrical energy into light and are longer lasting, and as a result, lighting fixtures that employ LED technologies are expected to replace incandescent bulbs in residential, commercial, and industrial applications.
Like their incandescent counterparts, LED-based light fixtures come in a variety of designs. Generally, an LED-based lighting fixture will include a light source and a trim. The light source includes one or more LEDs and control electronics for driving the LEDs. In some designs, the light source may be affixed to the trim via one or more fasteners, such that the control electronics in the light source are thermally coupled to the trim. The fasteners used to affix the trim to the light source may remain exposed within the trim and visible even after the LED-based lighting fixture has been installed, thereby reducing the aesthetic appeal of the LED-based lighting fixture. As such, there is a need for a solution to conceal the fasteners within a trim of an LED-based lighting fixture in order to increase the aesthetic appeal of the LED-based lighting fixture that does not interfere with the operation of the LED-based lighting fixture and further is easily installed onto current LED-based lighting fixtures including exposed fasteners.